Goodell and the future of the NFL: 'There will be franchises outside the US, I have no doubt'

The commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), Roger Goodell, is certain that the league's international expansion will happen at some point, predicting that franchises from outside the United States will compete against the Miami Dolphins, the Seattle Seahawks, the Kansas City Chiefs, and others.

In an interview with the German media outlet RTL/ntv, Goodell suggested that this is inevitable. This is also being planned in other leagues, such as the National Basketball Association (NBA).

"At some point, there will be NFL franchises outside the United States," said the league's commissioner. "I have no doubt that this will happen someday."

Likewise, Goodell—who on September 1 will mark two decades at the helm of the NFL, did not reveal his preferences regarding which foreign cities would be ideal for hosting a franchise, though he did say that there are some that meet the requirements both for that and for hosting a Super Bowl.

"There are certainly international cities that could host such an event," the NFL commissioner noted, referring to the Super Bowl. "But first we'd like to see an NFL team in one of those cities."

While we wait for that to happen, the NFL's international expansion actually began a little over two decades ago, when the decision was made to hold a game outside the United States. The first game pitted the Arizona Cardinals against the San Francisco 49ers at Estadio Azteca (Mexico City, Mexico) in 2005, with the Cardinals emerging victorious. More than 100,000 people attended that event to watch the game live.

Since then, more than 60 regular-season games have been held outside the United States in cities such as London (United Kingdom); Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt (Germany); Toronto (Canada); Sao Paulo (Brazil); Dublin (Ireland); and Madrid (Spain).

Matches are scheduled to take place soon in cities such as Melbourne (Australia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), or Paris (France).